Honey, they shrank the Mona Lisa!

Scientists have successfully printed a microscopic version of Leonardo da Vinci’s Mona Lisa , which is 10,000 times smaller than the original painting, using a revolutionary new laser printing technology.

A nanotechnology breakthrough from the Technical University of Denmark (DTU) revolutionises laser printing technology, allowing one to print high-resolution data and colour images in unprecedented quality and microscopic dimensions.

The laser technology allows printing in a resolution of 127,000 dots per inch (DPI). In comparison, weekly or monthly magazines are printed in a resolution equivalent to 300 DPI.

Using the new technology, researchers have reproduced a colour image of the Mona Lisa which is less than one pixel on a smartphone display.

The version is 50 micrometres long or about 10,000 times smaller than the original Mona Lisa in the Louvre in Paris. Printing the microscopic images requires a special nanoscale-structured surface, researchers said.

The structure consists of rows with small columns with a diameter of merely 100 nanometres each. This structured surface is then covered by 20 nanometres of aluminium.

As a laser pulse is transmitted from one nanocolumn to another, it is heated locally, after which it melts and is deformed. The temperature can reach up to 1,500 degrees Celsius, but only for a few nanoseconds.

The intensity of the laser beam determines which colours are printed on the surface, as the extent of column deformation decides which colour is reflected. The technology can be used to combat forgery, as products can be labelled with data invisible to the naked eye. — PTI